Soul: Augment or Ability?
by password0925
Summary: What if the souls a weapon obtains aren't just for collecting until turning into a Death Scythe? What if Maka had something more than an advanced Soul Perception and ability to control her Soul Wavelength? Find out how it might be in my opinion. AU.
1. Chapter 1: Soul Read

Hey! It's me again, the ever irritating author. :D

I do not own Soul Eater, but it would be awesome if I had Blair waiting for me back in my room. :

So, here's a little idea that's been playing in my head for a while. I wanted to share it to you because I sort of think it's awesome. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1: Soul Read

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"_Pit. Pat. Pit. Pat. She's not running yet right? All I hear are slow steps, so she's just walking. Pit. Pat. Pit. Pat. Pit pit? Pat pat? Huh? Is she skipping?" _the silhouette tilts his head to the side as he raises a hand and stretches a long finger to scratch at his head, as if to add emphasis to his thinking pose. _"Pit pit. Pat pat? Is she with someone else?"_ he stops for a while trying to figure out his puzzle, looking down at his feet to brood. _"Pit. Pat. Pit. Pat. She's alone…I think?"_ He takes a step forward. _"Pit pit?"_ Another step. _"Pat pat?"_ And as realization came, so too did his evil grin. _"Of course! I'm the other one that goes pit pat pit pat, that means she's alone…well, not really right? I'm here after all. And she's, well, I guess she really is all alone when she's all the way there and I'm waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over here!"_ and with a burst of speed, he closes the distance between him and his female "friend". She senses his presence and turns around, only to be knocked flat on the pavement on her back.

"**Boom!ahyahyahyahya…well hello there lovely pretty."** He pins her to the ground, knives where his fingers should be playing with her lovely locks. His grin widens, showing deformed sharp teeth in an uneven arrangement. He raises his left hand, and as she looks on in fear, slams it next to her head, palm open causing his left thumb to nick her in the cheeks. A tear rolls down the woman's eye, while saliva drips from the man's dangling tongue. He raises his right hand and follows her jaw line, down the neck all the way to her collar bone, back up to the throat where he briefly stops. At this time, small hicks are heard as the girl starts to cry.

"**Why you sad little lady? You no like game we play?"** she boldly nods her head. **"TOO BAD!ahyahyahyahya…I'm on top tonight, so it's my turn to be in charge."** He presses his finger against her throat, drawing blood. He then continues down towards her chest, sliding a finger through her cleavage and then lifting up slowly as his blade gets caught on her blouse. With a sadistic laugh, he violently jerks his arm up, tearing up the blouse and exposing her smooth and silky white skin. She looks away, and seeing her reaction, his eyes roll in towards the back of his head. He's reached his limits.

"**Itadakimas!"** he hissed as he raised his right hand, aiming for the chest, and prepares to strike. Suddenly, alarms went off inside his head, and he hastily leaps off the woman and somersaults back towards the direction he came from. Less than a second since he moved, a large scythe embeds itself into the tiled road, blade just inches away from piercing the girl's side. A figure landed on top of the scythe's handle, a girl.

"_**Oh what a fun night it will be tonight. Can't wait to taste their bodies…and their souls!"**_ the demented man thought to himself as his laughter howled through the night.

The girl looked at the demented man laugh himself silly. Well, sillier than what he already is at least. _"He isn't afraid of a Meister and her Weapon partner. Must be a relatively new Madman."_ The girl concluded before reaching up to her left ear and pressed the object in her ear which looks like one of the headphones of a headset device.

"Soul Read: Index." She says as the button she pressed glowed a green color and she closed her left eye. Suddenly, an orange light comes forward out of the object and then bends, forming an L, and travels towards the bridge of her nose, blocking her eye with a shining rectangular orange light. A second later, it glows white and as then the light breaks off, revealing an opaque glass-like material in front of her left eye which slowly displayed digits and data regarding the Madman in its sight.

"Jack the Ripper. A C-class Madman with weapon type, Claws. Caution: extremely agile and fast." She finishes off reading the Soul Read, all the while not taking her eyes off the man. "Hey, Soul. What do you think?"

An image of a boy is suddenly reflected on the scythe's blade. "Come on Maka. Don't be stupid and let's just take care of this guy. Making a lady wait is not cool you know."

"His name is Jack the Ripper, Soul. He's a guy."

"I'm not talking about him; I'm talking about the lady you're standing on top on."

Looking down, she saw the victim that she had saved, and finally noticed that she really was a lady.

"I see. Jack the Ripper, likes ripping girls' clothes off." She then looks at the Madman with a higher level of anger and hate in her eyes. "Let me tell you before I take your soul, Jack." She continues as she leaps off of the handle, grabs it with her right hand, lifts it off of the ground one-handed as if it was a normal knife, swings it over her head where her left hand gets a firm grip of the handle, masterfully twirls it with both hands above her head before letting go of the right hand and twirling it between her left hand's fingers to her side then stopping, getting a full grip of the lower portion, lowers the upper portion towards her right hand where she grips it tight, bends her knees and points the shaft towards the spot just in front of her right leg and the scythe's blade in front of her with the point towards her left. "I absolutely hate perverts!" she shouted as she quickly dashed toward the Madman, scythe pulled back ready for a strike. Once in range, she pulls back with her left hand while her right hand pushes the blade towards her opponent in a horizontal slash. Jack leaps high enough to avoid the swipe, and thrusts his right hand towards the girl's face. Using the momentum from her initial strike, she lets go of her right hand's grip, letting the scythe come full circle before she lets her grip of the weapon go, leans back to avoid the strike and then catching the scythe by the grabbing the handle just below the scythe's "head", allowing it to twirl between her fingers until the blade now pointed up and the lower handle is in front of her where she grabs it with her left hand, leans forward below the Madman's stretched arm and shifts her weight towards her toes while pushing forward the scythe so her right hand is farther from the blade and with the still increasing momentum pulls back with the left and pushes with the right in a slanted upwards slash while pushing all of her body's weight towards her left, carrying with her the scythe's momentum. Unable to maneuver properly while in mid-air, all Jack could do was lean back and tilt his head towards his left, causing the blade to just barely miss his face. Unfortunately for him, the scythe slashed him across the body going from his left hip up towards his right shoulder, and since he wasn't able to pull back his right hand at the last second, tearing off his hand. Still managing to make a stable landing, he grips his right shoulder with his left hand and starts sneering at the girl, looking at him with hateful determined eyes.

"**You brat!"** he cried in frustration as he dashed towards Maka, who was still holding her weapon up from that last series of attacks. She lowers her weapon to her left, purposefully baiting Jack to move towards her right. Even if she had the advantage now, he was still a lot faster than her and her weapon, and she couldn't afford to underestimate him. Seeing as she was "open" to her right, that's where Jack jumped in.

"_Just as I thought."_ Seeing the bait work, she started the full swing of her weapon, not bothering to turn the blade towards the opponent. _"At this, the most logical move would be to jump up, drop down, or move inside my space and try to fight me at super close combat."_

Jack smiles, but with his back turned towards Maka, she couldn't see it. Pushing with all his might, he jumped back, ramming his back towards Maka's shoulder.

"_Damn! He got me!"_ the Meister thought starting to get out of what could be trouble for her. Getting rammed, she momentarily lost balance as she was surprised, and her body pushed against Soul's handle effectively halting it mid-swing. After the recoil, before he would be sent back towards the ground, Jack immediately turns and delivered a full swing slash at Maka's lower back all the way up to her right shoulder blade, making Maka arch her back in pain. The moment his foot touched the ground, he immediately circled towards his left, turned in place and delivered a roundhouse kick to her side, causing her to bend because of the force and grunt in pain. Before he could land, Maka thrust her scythe's lower end towards Jack, using its handle as a pole and burying its end deep into Jack's stomach. Finally regaining her balance, she took the opportunity presented by her opponent doubling over in pain and raised both her hands over her head and prepared to make a downwards slash. Starting her attack, her right shoulder's wound stings, causing her to wince in pain and losing power in her thrust, reducing the attack's power and speed, giving Jack just enough time to dodge the blade before it crashed into the tiles where he was just a second ago.

"**Getting sloppy, what's wrong my dear? You're getting slooooooooooooooow…. Come on, come on. You still need to pay me back for cutting off my arm, I had plans for it you know." **Jack taunted as his mad grin once again became plastered on his face. Maka just looked at him with the same eyes, removing her weapon from the ground. Seeing as his taunting didn't work, he dashed forward in a low stance, his single arm dangling behind him, jumping and delivering a push kick towards her stomach. Reacting quickly, Maka placed her weapon vertically in front of her, blade pointed outwards, using the handle to block the kick. Replacing her left hand near the base of the blade, positioned as if holding the weapon in an underhanded way, she slides her right hand down towards the lower part of the handle, swiping Jack's foot downwards in the process, causing him to stumble forward towards her. When her right hand reached as far down the handle as she could reach, she pulled her right hand bringing with it the weapon while she sent all of her weight towards the blade and pushed with her left hand with all of her might, creating a powerful and fast downward vertical slash. Proving his speed and agility is indeed something to watch out for, Jack managed to avoid being struck by the blade and managed to get close to Maka to effectively use her scythe, leaving the blade to smash onto the road, burying it deep. Pulling back his left hand for a thrust of his own, he started to crouch to add more force and weight to his attack. Maka swept her own legs, slipping it across and towards the other side of her weapon, her body forming a cross with the handle. Having losing her balance, she leaned down until she was virtually lying down on air, evading the Madman's thrust, then letting her arms carry her weight while still holding onto her weapon, she pulled her body upwards, her body pressed against the handle as she kicked up, sending her feet to meet with Jack's face, carrying the rest of her body to spin on the handle like a gymnast. Jack craned his neck to the side, causing the Meister's feet to hit nothing but air as it whizzed by harmlessly above his cheek. Looking towards the spot where her head was before, he found it gone along with the rest of her body. At that time, Maka had stretched her arms, now hand-standing on her weapon's handle, she pulled back both her legs until they were went past being vertically aligned with the rest of her body until they were behind her as her back arched to form an n. Letting her right arm collapse and bend, she pulled in the rest of her body with her left hand and brought forward her feet, snapping them to deliver a fierce kick to Jack's face. The Madman was once again able to evade a strike to his head by moving to the side, but he wasn't fast enough as both of the Meister's feet were able to pummel her on the shoulder. Ignoring the pain, he locked the girl's legs in place by placing an arm over them, pressing them against his shoulder, lifted his left foot and took a foothold on the scythe's handle, stepping on it with all of his weight, he lifted himself up as his right leg lashed out to hit the Meister's still-bent left arm. Seeing the attack coming, Maka pushed herself upwards with just enough force to dodge the leg, and as it swept by, Jack was now in the air with both feet without a foothold. Immediately grabbing onto Soul's handle before she is brought up by Jack being carried by his move's momentum, she pulled hard and let her back fall towards the ground behind her, bringing her legs and along with them, Jack, to come crashing to the ground with Jack going in head first. Sitting up, Maka pulled her feet free from Jack's loose grip as he went in and out of consciousness. Standing up, she quickly grabs onto her the still-stuck scythe and yanks it off the pavement. Not wasting time on getting a stable foothold, brought her hands above her head, and struck in a downwards slash, this time hitting its mark as it buried deep into the Madman's chest. The body glowed and flashed with a white light, before the light broke apart and was sucked into a sphere above where the clothes lay, swirling and shining a brighter light of white. A final flash and the white light settled into a soul-like form wearing the Madman's mask.

The Meister let out a long a breath before collapsing onto the ground, landing on her knees and now sitting like a mermaid, her weapon flashing with white light before transforming into a boy.

"Took you long enough. And like usual, you were being very rough on me too." He said before cracking his neck to the side.

"Oh shut up, Soul. It wasn't exactly easy dealing with him you know, or have you forgotten that he was a C Class Madman?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, what have we got?" he asked as he looked at the floating soul. Maka looked at it with her Soul Read and started reading aloud.

"Well, since he was a C Class Claw-type, he's got pretty good Augments for Slashing and Piercing type weapons."

"Stats?"

"Hmmm, adding a +4 towards the Slashing Type, while a +6 towards Piercing. Also adds +7 towards a weapon's Sharpness."

"Why does it give a higher stat rating for piercing type when it's clearly a slashing type?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Probably because of this particular Madman's preference to stabbing rather than slashing?"

"Any abilities? He is a C class after all."

"Well, one for slashing and one for piercing. Hmmmm, let's see. 'Rippah's Claw', creates two solid copies of the blade placed on both sides of the blade, giving the slash a claw-like appearance. Also allows the weapon to cut deeper and create a sharper slash. For the piercing type…" she started before Soul stopped her.

"Never mind that. I want the ability."

"You sure? It has pretty good Augments on it."

"We've already got 60 D class Augments, and 20 C class Augments. This is the first Ability that looks fit for us. And besides, all in all, we've bagged over 140 E rank souls, 80 D rank and this is like the 30th C rank?"

"148 E rank, 86 D rank and this is the 32nd C rank, to be precise. And 63 D class Augments with 21 C class Augments are what you've taken so far. Seriously, you need to keep a better track of what we've got."

"See? So it's not like you need to sell more Augments or Abilities. Come on, this one actually looks like a good Ability for us."

"Well, okay. It is you who gets the final say after all." She said as she stood up and dusted herself off. She went up to the soul, placed both hands on its base as if scooping it up, then pulled it close towards her chest.

"Tormented souls, tormented soul, hear me who whispers to the dead. Heed my words; obey my command, for your release and salvation will be by my hand. Open your gates, release your power, it is your ability which we desire. Awaken!" she whispered to the soul, shouting the last part while stretching her arms, as if offering the sphere of light towards the heavens. The soul's light shined brighter, then flashed blue, then red and then back to white. It flashed through the three colors until it rested on red, then growing up to the size of Maka's head, before returning back to its original size. It was now a bright red in color, only now, it looked to be have a claw weapon on it, just below the mask. She then gave it to her partner, placing it on his open and waiting hand.

"It's time to get a lot stronger, Soul."

"Yeah," was his reply as he took the soul, pinching it with his free hand's thumb and forefinger and dangling it in front of his eyes, "time to go above my limit again. Itadakimas." He smiled before he opened his mouth; cocking his head back and dropping the soul into it, swallowing it in one go.

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Whew! This one took me two whole days to write. As in, literally, two whole days. .

I know, I know. I suck at writing fight scenes, or maybe stories for that matter, but oh well. Review please; it is your opinions that matter after all. :D


	2. Chapter 2: Trial of the Sword

Before anything, I do not own Soul Eater. And my slow paced writing might not be something that you guys would like, but I will be doing my best to improve on it. Oh! Since I started at the beginning of the original series, I'll continue on from then, meaning what exactly? Yep! This chapter will be Black Star's "introduction". Hope you all like it! :D

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Chapter 2: Trial of the Sword

A shadow shifts as the residents of the mansion remains ignorant, happily feasting on platters and platters of human souls. The shadow stops and watches as his targets went about their feast, engorging themselves with their meals.

"Remember Black Star, The Way of Assassination…" a female voice whispered.

"Yeah, I know Tsubaki…" he replied with a hushed voice. Then, closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath before he slowly breathed it out, calming his mind and stilling his body. Opening his eyes, he kept his presence hidden, suppressing his being to as small as he could manage.

"_First Rule: Blend into the shadows…control your breathing…and wait for your target to let down his guard."_ Tsubaki told him in his mind.

"Easily done…" he replied as he kept his eyes on his target.

"_Second Rule: Tune in to your target. Predict his thoughts and actions."_

"I've got him…"

"_Third Rule: Strike your target before he notices you."_ She finished before Black Star was on the move. He leapt out of his spot and landed on the table just in front of his target's plate, eyes locked onto his target. He smiled as his target looked at him with fear and shock.

"Alcapone…" he whispered as he gripped his weapon, causing the man in front of him to flinch and cover his face with his arms, trying to block the strike that was sure to come. In a swift movement, the boy stood up and moved his blade upward, shouting at the top of his lungs as he went into a pose.

"Yahoo! Rejoice! For you are now in the presence of the great Black Star, the big and stealthy assassin which is me!" he finished with a big smile. Alcapone dropped his hands and stared at the boy with wide open eyes and mouth hung open. He snapped his fingers and his henchmen was already to his side, wielding their favored weapons, the Tommy Guns. Needing no more prompting, they opened fire at the figure on the table. Black Star started doing a weird tap dance as he did his best to avoid the bullets. Finally deciding that it was time for his grand exit, he leapt into the air with a flip.

"Tsubaki! Smoke Bomb!" he said as his weapon glowed and the light changed shape until it was now spherical. The light broke from the figure and the boy threw the bomb below him, giving him a smokescreen and allowing him to run away, laughing as loud as he could.

* * *

"Did you see their faces, Tsubaki? They were so scared and in awe of the big me!" he boasted as he was walking his arrogant march, knees far apart and taking huge steps with his hands crossed behind his head.

"Well, they were scared and surprised, I'm not really sure of it being in awe…" she weakly replied.

"Hmph! They were in awe, as they saw the majestic and glowing Black Star! The biggest star in all of Shibusen!" he argued, looking to the side with a huge pout. Tsubaki only nodded with a gentle smile as they walked towards a hot spring that they had found during their recon work. She bowed to her Meister and proceeded to walk towards the only opening in the rock formations that hid the warm bath. Black Star grinned maniacally as he dashed towards the huge wall of rocks that the hot springs hid behind.

"You dare deny the greatness of Black Star, Tsubaki? It's time for your punishment!" he said as he wiped the drool that had formed in the corner of his mouth. He climbed up the wall, muttering words like "big" and "great", along with his name and "me". As he reached the top, he slowly peaked over the top of the wall of rock, shouting his victory, but before he could see anything clearly, a shuriken embedded itself in his forehead, causing a small spurt of blood. He cried out in pain and his hands shot up in front of his face. Losing the grip he had on the mountain's ledge, he fell backwards and started tumbling down the side of the wall, crashing on the ground head first as he fell into unconsciousness.

"Stupid Black Star, at least TRY to keep your voice down." She muttered as she finished up her bath.

* * *

Alcapone and his Family had started to move out. He was pleased as his subordinates had finally found the witch child that was known to have escaped the De Niro Family's clutches. If she were to be cooperative and work for them, then they would treat her well, giving her whatever she needs as her magic develops. However, if she proved to be disobedient, she'll merely have to be useful to them in other ways. He smiled as he thought of the latter and drool started to form around his mouth, already patting his belly.

"Let's move it boys! I want this deal to be done with so we could feast back at the Mansion." His smile grew wider as they now saw the tower of the witch's house.

* * *

"So, any ideas on how to kill that Boss? They would probably double their security now that they know that the big me is after him! No, they'll probably quadruple it! Wait! If they don't make it a hundred times, it won't be a challenge! Unless we go straight through the front door!" he finished with his loud laugh.

"Black Star, I don't think they'll still be in that mansion by now." She said, loud enough for him to hear over his ranting. He looked at her with a look of horror as he dreaded what they might be forced to do, again.

"You mean we're going to have to find him again? More recon work? That's boring!"

"It's not that they moved, Black Star. It's just, before we entered; I heard that they found the whereabouts of a witch somewhere, so they'll probably be going for the witch by now."

"What? A witch? Yahoo! Where did they say the witch was? We'll be able to blow past all the others when we get the witch's soul. They'll all see the magnificence that is the great and big, Black Star!" he asked as he shook his partner enthusiastically.

"Th-they said that sh-she lived down the e-edge of t-town, at the small house w-with the tower th-that we passed by be-before…" she managed to say while being shaken. Finally free from her Meister's grip, she cleared away her dizziness only to stare at the empty spot Black Star once was in. She blinked her eyes a few times before she looked towards the direction of the witch's house.

"Black Star! Wait! The witch is…" she tried to shout out but Black Star was already too far to hear. She ran as fast as she could to try and catch up to him, worried about the outcome of their little adventure.

* * *

"Leave!" he warned once more. He was slowly getting impatient as he hated to repeat himself, only to remember that he had been doing so over the course of his everyday life ever since he met her. The 'man' he was talking to only cocked an eyebrow, with his large smile still on his face.

"I'm willing to make you an offer that you can't refuse." Putting an emphasis on the word can't as his henchmen clicked their guns menacingly.

"You look like a good man, and a strong person. Betraying a Family's Boss has guts, especially when it includes that idiot Marlon. So how's about become loyal to me? You'll be greatly rewarded, even more so than you were while with the De Niro Family." He said while he wiggled his fingers, showing the many rings he had on.

"I don't need anything from you other than your cooperation to leave." He said, slamming the tip of his sword's sheath on the ground.

"All we want…"

"I know what you want, and I won't let you lay a finger on Angela." He said, his eyes now promising murder. The man in front of him merely grunted and moved to snap his hand. The moment the sound was heard, the swordsman's thumb pushed up on his sword's hilt. A flash of light that reflected off of the sword's blade was all that was seen as he suddenly disappeared. Al staggered forward, looking around in bewilderment, looking towards each rock as if expecting the man to come out from behind one of them. He heard a clink behind him and he stiffened, he turned around slowly with eyes wide as his heart pounded with fear. What he saw made him fall on his back. There behind him stood the samurai with his back to him, the souls of his subordinates floating around the area. The man turned his murderous glare towards him and his fear escalated to new heights.

"M-mifune…w-wait! I, I don't need Angela-" whatever he was going to say was cut off as Mifune was immediately in front of him, his sword already to his side, posed as if he had finished his slash. Al felt relief as the man no longer moved to kill him, only to give one last gasp as his form broke into shadows and got swallowed into a small sphere before his soul flashed into existence.

"Don't you dare call her name so casually." Mifune said as he sheathed his sword. He walked up towards the rock he was sitting on and resumed his position, hoping that no more "visitors" would come to disturb his and Angela's peace.

* * *

When they arrived, they expected a dark and gloomy atmosphere, with black clouds above that showed the evil of the witch inhabiting the area. They had not expected it to be a simple house with a tower, perched on the edge of a cliff, surrounded by an open area littered with rocks; nor did they expect to see souls floating about in the air, with a normal human perched on a rock in the middle of the area. Black Star and Tsubaki approached slowly and cautiously, looking at each soul they passed as if they were in a gallery. Stopping just in front of the man, Black Star didn't wait for him to acknowledge his presence.

"Oi! What happened here?" he asked. The man simply opened an eye to look at them, and then closed it again, not bothering to answer. A small tick formed on Black Star's forehead as he started to get pissed; he hated being ignored.

"OI! I said, what happened here?" again not getting a response, the tick grew and he kicked the rock the man was sitting on, took a deep breath and shouted as loud as he can.

"ARE YOU FREAKIN' DEAF? I ASKED YOU WHAT HAPPENED HERE!"

Mifune opened his eyes and looked at the two. His hand went towards the sword that was lying next to him before asking them a question, completely ignoring the boy's ranting.

"What is your business here?"

"Well, we're after a madman by the name of Alcapone. He has low-class madmen as his henchmen and we were wondering…" she asked as she turned to look at the souls around her before looking back at the swordsman. He gave a small nod, picked up his sword and used it to point towards a specific soul, slightly separated from the rest. Tsubaki didn't need to ask anymore as she saw the soul had a hat on it, same as the one Alcapone wore.

"We're here to kill the witch and take her evil soul back to DWMA at Shibusen!" Black Star shouted. Mifune's hand clenched around his weapon and he looked at the boy with as much killing intent as he could pour into his gaze. He stood up to his fullest and placed his sword to his side, his other hand holding the sheath, poised and ready to draw his blade at any time.

"Angela doesn't have an evil soul! And you're not taking her!" he growled before he took a quick step and drew his sword so fast that Black Star was barely able to avoid the slash. Blood trickled from the cut that formed on his cheek, and Mifune held his blade in front of him.

"That was a warning."

Black Star reached towards Tsubaki, not letting his eyes leave Mifune. He knew automatically that the man was strong, and there was no time for his fooling around.

"Tsubaki, Ninja Sword." Was all he said. Tsubaki reached for his hand and started to transform into the specified weapon. Soon as she was in his grasp and resonated enough to allow for battle, a screeching went through both their ears. Black Star covered one of his ear with his free hand, wincing at the sudden noise and he noticed that the pressure of the swordsman suddenly grew.

"Oi, old man. You're awfully noisy, aren't you?" he started with a pissed off tone, an expression on his face matching his voice. "Nobody is supposed to be louder than me when I'm on stage. I'm the star of this show! Tsubaki!"

"Hai!" Tsubaki's image reflected off the blade of the sword, and she closed her eyes in concentration. Black Star mimicked her calm and concentration, the sword lowered to his side while his other hand was up in a seal in front of his face.

"You may be fast, old man, but let me tell you this. I go beyond the Gods, which means I'm even faster than the God of Speed or whatever is! Speed Star!" opening his eyes at the last part as he shouted it, he dashed forward in a burst of speed. Mifune was slightly surprised, but he merely closed his eyes and waited. He swung his sword to his side, catching Black Star as soon as he appeared there forcing the boy to block. Not standing around for too long, Black Star dashed away again, once more disappearing from sight. This time moving his blade diagonally above his shoulder, a little distance from his head, he blocked Black Star's attack as he appeared there; quickly thrusting the sheath he was holding towards his stomach, pushing him a good distance away from him.

"Your speed was indeed impressive, but your attacks are too obvious and your presence is practically shouting where you are. This is your last warning, leave now, or else I will kill you. It doesn't matter if you are still just a kid, you are a Meister and I will not hesitate to stop you from taking Angela, whatever means necessary." He said as he pointed the blade of his katana towards Black Star's direction. The boy just glared back at him.

"Oh yeah? Like you can do any better!" he shouted, forcing himself to stand. In the blink of the eye, Mifune disappeared from his sight. He quickly went into deep concentration, free hand up in a seal in front of his face, and his other hand crossed in front of him holding the blade underhanded. He closed his eyes as he still couldn't sense the man's presence nor hear his soul's frequency. His eyes flew open and he shifted in place, moving a second too late as he was struck in the back with Mifune's sword, blunt side up.

"Do not compare me to the likes of you, kid. I hate repeating myself. Leave now, because the next strike will be to kill. Playtime is over." He calmly said as he let go of all restraint, causing his presence to be so overwhelming that Black Star was practically getting pinned down, and his soul frequency to cause a deafening roar in the Black Star's and Tsubaki's ears. Getting angrier by the second, the boy shouted as he let all of his frustrations burst out, breaking free of the limit it had before. The sudden swell within him helped keep Mifune's pressure off of him, and the increase in his own soul's frequency helped dampen the noise from Mifune's.

"Tsubaki, there's no need for us to hear his soul anymore. It's time to be completely serious." He said, sighing in relief as Tsubaki cancelled her soul perception resonance with her Meister. A small gust of wind blew as both warriors just stood there in the clearing. A clatter of some stones and then they disappeared, appearing only as blurs clashing with rains of sparks. Every now and then, they'd completely appear, blades locked against each other as they stood in place, fighting for dominance before pushing against each other and starting to blur with speed once more. They appeared next in front of each other, running sideways as they slashed and struck. Mifune slashed downwards, causing Black Star's hand follow the blade's path.

"Tsubaki! Shuriken!" the boy shouted and his weapon bathed in light before morphing. Once the light broke free from the form, it revealed a large shuriken with a handle inside the center where Black Star held it. He jumped backwards as he flung it towards his opponent, hoping the surprise would be enough to make the hit land. Mifune was barely able to divert the projectile's trajectory with his sword, but it still managed to graze his arm as it curved in its path to return to its master. He looked at the gash through his clothes and skin, and then watched as the shuriken made its way back home to its user.

"Your weapon has a pretty interesting ability, though I feel that its high value and quality is wasted on you who can't fully utilize it." he said before dashing once again towards his opponent. His words caused different reactions as Tsubaki blushed because of the compliment while Black Star's face flushed from anger at the insult.

"Tsubaki! Chain!" he roared as he darted forward to meet the samurai head on. Tsubaki, already knowing what he had meant, changed once more to form a long chain, a weight dangling in Black Star's left hand where the rest of the chain was wrapped while his right hand held more of the chain, already in motion of whirling the sickle that dangled on the other end. Mifune made a slash with his elbow pointing up, forcing his blade to come up from under his opponent. Black Star blocked with the tensed chain and immediately threw the scythe towards his head. He tilted his head to the side and let the blade nick his cheek. He went lower in his stance, causing the sword to be level with his eyes and his free hand shot towards the rest of his sword's handle. With a twist, he thrust his blade towards the boy's body. It cut deep into skin but the boy was able to sidestep it enough to only get his side. Catching the sickle as it twirled around the katana's blade catching it within the chain's grasp as it snaked across, he moved to kick the blade in the section where the chain had wrapped itself around it. Mifune blocked his kick with his free hand and pulled his sword to the side, forcing Black Star to get yanked forward as he lost balance from his kick. Kicking off the ground, Mifune drove his knee deep within the boy's gut, pushed the boy's foot away and then sent an elbow towards his back, sending the boy towards the ground quickly. Moving his sword to manipulate the sickle that was now free from the boy's hand through the chain wrapped around its blade, he sent it pointed edge first towards the body on the ground, his sword's tip already following as he thrust it towards the boy's arm. Yanking hard on the chain wrapped around his hand, he made a sweep kick as the man's sword was forced to drive hard in the earth, pulling on the sickle's chain causing it to stop its movement mid-air before drooping to dangle helplessly on its chain. Mifune jumped to evade the sweep kick since he can't step back as his sword was caught in the chain and stuck in the ground. Using the sweep's motion, Black Star pushed off of the ground with a spin in place, his left hand above his head with its elbow sticking out while his right hand was to his side, poised to drive a thrust with his fingers bent into his palm. The movement caused Mifune's katana to be pulled by the chain, yanking him forward in the process.

"Certain Kill: Black Star Big Wave!" he shouted as he thrust pushed his body towards the incoming body of Mifune, his right hand cackling with yellow lightning and energy. He quickly thrust his hand soon as his elbow felt contact, but Mifune was able to push himself sideways using his free hand to block the elbow strike before proceeding to reach for the boy's head and pushing with all of his might. Black Star's attack hit nothing but air and the movement of his attack was too large to allow him to recover quickly. He felt a kick to his back and he was pushed forward, before he was jerked to the side as Mifune pulled on his katana, bringing along with it the chain that was still wrapped around it. Soon as Mifune's foot landed, he reached for the dangling arm of the boy and brought it upwards, bending and twisting it so the elbow was high in the air with the hand twisted forcefully to the side, forcing the boy down on one knee. He used the same foot to kick him in the back to drive another knee in the boy's body, this time aimed at the chest. He stretched it so his foot was now resting on the boy's chained arm, tensing it as he pulled his sword free from the chain. Both feet planted on the ground, he swung his sword as he shifted his weight, putting as much force as he could to the slash as he moved to behead the boy.

"Ko…dachi…" the boy managed to say as he tried to bear the pain from his hand being bent oddly. Immediately, Tsubaki shifted form to a shorter version of the katana. Holding it normally, he pointed the tip towards the ground and held it in front of him, blocking the incoming blade, but it was still pushed towards him due to the power of the swing. He used his forehead to push against his arm to stop the blade's momentum, succeeding in the process and managed to push it back. Forcefully blowing the katana away, he quickly got on his feet, jumped and twirled in the air to right the angle of his hand and arm, then slashing at the hand that gripped him by the wrist. Mifune quickly let go and withdrew his arm, instead sending it to grip his sword for a strong upwards slash. Black Star maneuvered as best he could while in mid-air but the sword was still able to cut him in the shoulder. He quickly leapt away soon as his feet touched the ground, landing a good distance away from the swordsman.

His breathing had become ragged as he fought for air; his shoulders slumped due to exhaustion. One eye closed due to the pain from his injuries while his other eye fought to stay open.

"_His hits are really heavy; it shouldn't be possible considering his body structure! He almost sent me unconscious with those knees to the gut."_ He thought as he glared at his opponent, his free hand pressing against the wound on his side. He spared it a glance before looking back at his enemy. _"The wound was deeper than I thought, and the constant moving has caused more bleeding. The Certain Kill also caused it to open even more. Damn it! I know I can beat him! Just one of my Certain Kill and I know he'll go down!"_ he thought as he fought to stay awake, the blood loss already blurring his vision.

"_Black Star! Calm down! Concentrate! You're being dragged into his area of expertise. You aren't a samurai, you're an assassin!"_ Tsubaki yelled to him through their link. Realization came as he started to formulate a strategy. He closed his eyes in concentration, his free and bloodied hand back into a seal. He calmed his breathing and focused his thoughts, repeating the rules of The Way of Assassination in his head over and over. Mifune's eyes widened slightly as the boy's presence was slowly being erased. He dashed forward, knowing that whatever the kid was planning, it would be disastrous for him if it were to be completed.

"You think I'd sit back and watch you complete your preparations?" he asked, as he stood in front of the boy, his sword to his side and already in the motion of swinging forward. He slashed, and the boy merely jumped over it in a cartwheel.

"Smoke Bomb." He declared and he immediately threw the ball where he would land, covering the area in smoke. A muffled voice followed the crunching noise of his foot landing on the gravel. "Ninjato."

Mifune immediately spun around towards to face the shadowed figure within the smoke. He stretched his senses as he tried to predict where the boy would strike, immediately thinking that he'll use the burst of speed to attack from within the cloud. He kept his eyes locked onto the figure, slowly widening as the figure's presence was slowly disappearing until he could no longer detect it. The cloud cleared and there stood the boy, smiling as his right arm was across his neck, hand resting on the injured shoulder while his other hand was holding the weapon underhanded, crossed under the other.

"_Something…is off."_ His brows furrowed in confusion and concentration as he tried to detect the boy's presence until he was able to tug at something. His eyes widened to their fullest as he recognized the feeling from the figure in front of him.

"You-" was all he managed to say as the boy's form started to turn into a complete shadow, before fading away in dried leaves and revealing the figure of Tsubaki. She was smiling as she whispered their technique's name.

"Dummy Star." Soon as the words were said, a crunching noise came behind Mifune and the boy's presence suddenly exploded behind him. He was only able to turn his head to look at the boy's form behind him, poised in an attack he recognized.

"Certain Kill: Black Star Big Wave!" he shouted as he pushed his shoulder to his back, driving his raised elbow in as well, before thrusting his hand to it with all the weight he could, forcing the man's feet off the ground as his back arched backwards. A second after, he pushed as much of his soul wavelength in a huge burst as it was forced into the samurai's body, pushing him a good distance away. Seeing the success of his attack, Black Star dropped onto his knees, tired and hoping the man wouldn't stand. He stared in defeat as the man shakily got on his feet, clutching his side and a trail of blood on his lips. He was glaring at the boy and he looked back at him with determined eyes, all feelings of hate and anger gone. He reached for Tsubaki as he got up on one knee, respect and admiration slowly welling inside him. The man suddenly went into fits of coughing as he spat out more blood, dropping to one knee. Black Star shifted his weight forward, prepared to finish the fight, until a voice came echoing through the area.

"Stop!" came a small voice. The owner of the voice came flying from the house towards Mifune, crashing just in front of the man.

"Don't bully Mifune anymore, you meanie!" she said as she clambered and latched onto the arm that Mifune was using to support his weight.

"Angela, I told you not to come out." He scolded her, his eyes not leaving the boy's form.

"But he was bullying you! I don't want you to get hurt anymore!" she cried out. Black Star just stared in a mixture of confusion and surprise at their exchange, his hand loosing the firm grip on his weapon. Letting it slide off and fall on the ground, he asked in a shout.

"Oi! You mean to tell me that THAT's the witch? That little girl?" At his side, Tsubaki went back to her human form and started rubbing his back.

"Really. That's what I was trying to explain to you before you ran off without me. The witch, Angela Leon is still just a child, which is why Shinigami-sama hasn't put her in the Dangerous Witches List yet." She lifted him up on his feet and helped him walk towards the two, his arm slung over her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his body, careful not to touch his wound. Mifune just continued to glare at the boy while Angela continued to cry in a comical way.

"And you called me a kid?" Black Star asked Mifune, a glare back in his eyes.

"I am not a kid!" Angela shouted as she took Mifune's sword and made an overhead slash, embedding the blade into the boy's forehead. A small fountain of blood came as the blade remained stuck on his head, he flailed around as his large tears started to form around his wide opened eyes. Tsubaki sighed as he pulled down Black Star and removed the blade, already bandaging up her Technician's wounds.

"You could take a kick, an elbow, a knee and sword cuts from a samurai but you can't take one from a child?" she said with a small smile, her eyes gentle as she winked at the young witch.

"Well, this changes everything. I mean, I don't like picking on children." Black Star absent-mindedly said as he scratched his nose.

"So what now? You attack me and injure to the point that I am practically disabled, and I won't be able to protect her until I recover, which would be a week or so at best." Mifune spat, cutting the friendly atmosphere. Angela was busy groping around his body, asking him where it hurts over and over.

"Hey! You attacked us first! It was self-defense!" he shouted back before looking to the side with shame as he looked back and forth between Mifune's glare and Angela's worried face. His face twisted as he tried his best to think. Snapping his fingers as he got an idea, he looked at Tsubaki and whispered to her.

"Well, it's worth a try. Angela-san, do you have a mirror around here?" she asked with a thoughtful look. The young witch nodded and her hat's tongue rolled inside its mouth before it closed. Tsubaki didn't need to wait long until the mouth opened again and the tongue shot out, its tip rolled around the handle of a small hand-mirror. She took it and gave the witch thanks before she walked away from the group, writing something on the mirror and whispering something until a flash of light came from it. Mifune was still glaring at the boy while Angela still tried to look for the spot on his body that hurts. Black Star stood up and turned his back on the two, eyes looking intently at Tsubaki. She was now walking around the area, the mirror secured in her belt, pushing the souls together towards the center. Soon as they were bunched up together, she held the mirror's face towards the souls and with a flash of light, started to suck all of the souls in. After the mirror's glass flashed one last time, she faced it towards her as she started to walk towards them, apparently talking to it. She looked up from the mirror and giggled as she looked at them. Wondering what made her laugh; Black Star looked behind him only to hold his sides as he began laughing. Angela was currently wrapping bandages around Mifune, and she had started with his head, wrapping it around with only the eyes unwrapped. All the while, Mifune's eyes never lost its glaring look.

"What an idiot child! What an idiotic face!" he started as he pointed at Angela and then at Mifune, laughing loud as he can, only for him to hold his injured side and bend over in pain, shutting his eyes. Opening one of his eyes, he saw Angela looking up at him with a glare of her own. She reared back her foot and brought it up in a rising front kick, hitting him full to the groin. Black Star's face was contorted with pain as he was frozen in place, until he toppled over like a statue. He howled in pain and held his family jewels, squirming around on the ground.

"I'm not a child, and I'm not an idiot! IDIOT!" Angela shouted before going back towards Mifune. The samurai just looked at the writhing boy on the ground with a raised eyebrow, a look of satisfaction on his face and pity in his eyes.

"My, my, it seems awfully lively around there, doesn't it?" came an unfamiliar voice. He looked towards Tsubaki to find her holding the mirror up towards them, a figure reflected on it that was not his own.

"Hello, hello. My name is Shinihami, nice to meet you, 'Sword God Mifune', child witch Angela Leon." He said as he waved at them with both hands. Mifune then got his other knee down and bowed his head to the ground, his arms positioned as if doing push-ups.

"It is nice to meet you, Shinigami-sama." Was his respectful reply. Seeing Mifune down on his knees, Angela pulled the sides of her skirt and promptly did a curtsy, head bowed to show respect. Standing up straight after, she tilted her head to the side and smiled wide and true as her eyes shut to show her great pleasure.

"I'm Angela Leon. Nice to meet you, Shinigami-sama." To see them both respectful shocked Black Star greatly. He crawled up beside Mifune and started shouting.

"Oi, oi, oi! Why're you bowing down to the Boss when you were looking down on me? You should be bowing down to me, because my existence surpasses that of Gods! Pay your respects to the big –mmph!" whatever he was trying to say was cut off as Mifune grabbed him on top of his head and drove his face into the dirt.

"Show your respects to the leader of the Eight Powerful Warriors!" he hissed while Angela moved over to him and kicked him, again in his unprotected valuables.

"Now, now, there's no need for being too strict. It's just the way he shows respect," he said in a cheerful manner before his voice shifted to a more menacing cheerful voice, "isn't that right, Black Star-kun?"

"Mm mm mmph…" he started as he tried to talk with his face still being pressed towards the ground as Mifune still kept pushing on his head. Giving up on talking, he merely gave a thumbs-up.

"Now that that is all clear, Tsubaki-chan has filled me up on the situation. It really is sad that Angela's identity as a witch has already been leaked, but since one with a pure and strong soul like you has been confirmed to be protecting her, I had thought it best to leave the two of you be." He said while shaking his head, finishing with a large sigh as his shoulders slumped. He picked up his form once again and continued with a slightly (with great emphasis on slightly) serious tone. "However, in light of recent events as well as current circumstances which was brought on by our students, I think it is about time that we intervene. With all of that said, child witch Angela Leon, along with your bodyguard, 'Sword God' Mifune, we here at DWMA extend our hand to the both of you. We shall offer both protection, but in the condition that both of you remain within Shibusen. Also, in order for you to pay for daily expenses, both of you are invited to become students here at the academy should you show ability in wielding a Demon Weapon. Would you accept our offer?" he asked, reaching out his hand, extending it out until it formed a ripple in the reflection. Slowly, the hand came into being, waiting for Mifune's. The samurai looked towards the child and she looked back at him with a curious expression. She smiled at him and he smiled back. He wiped his hand on his pants before ruffling the girl's hair, then extended his arm to reach for Shinigami's hand. Giving it a firm grip, the large white hand wrapped around his and they gave it one good shake.

"We accept." He said with a firm look on his face. Shinigami's other hand showed up from the side of the reflection and gave them an okay sign and then their hands parted.

"Well then, all that's left would be a few papers signing once you get here and you're all set. Oh my, I forgot. Mifune-san, you're going to have to look for a partner soon as you get here, meaning you'll be in the Weapon-Technician Match Meeting first." He said, his fist dropping onto his open palm. He then extended two fingers to point at them from his side of the mirror. "Also, you're going to be helping in the training of the students, and maybe even the teachers should they ask for it. Well then, see you soon, Mifune-sensei~" he finished in a sing-song way before his reflection faded away. Mifune just stared at the mirror with wide eyes and a slightly-open mouth, shock plastered on it as his hand still held down the head of a flailing Black Star.

"_I'm…going to be a teacher?"_ he thought to himself as his heart started to pound so hard, he could've sworn that the others could hear it. His look of shock turned into a look of true joy as his small and reserved smile crept up, excitement set deep in his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3: A Little Skip

Chapter 3: A Little Skip

"_Hey, her soul is somewhat weird, isn't it?"_

"_Yeah, according to the Soul Read, it doesn't have that high of stats. B Rank Active Ability: Compound Claw and B Rank Passive Ability: Cat Balance, I guess the Active is compatible with us now because of the Rippa Slash, but I don't see how Cat Balance will work for us?"_

"_Let me see…okay, Compound Claw: the claw-type weapon gains strength in durability and slashing power with every successful wound inflicted on the enemy with the weapon. Doesn't that make it a Passive?"_

"_Soul, that's only the condition to be able to use it. See? It says here that once five stacks are achieved, Compound Claw can be used to release a wave of power that can slash like a real claw. So it means we now get a ranged attack now."_

"_Okay, okay. So what's Cat Balance? Huh? Ability allows for lighter steps and swifter movements, along with the ability to right oneself in mid-air. The heck?! Why would a Weapon need something like that?! Can that even be used while in weapon form?!"_

"_Hey! Don't shout at me! I'm not the one who made it like that you know!"_

"_Ow! Okay! OKAY! I get it, so stop hitting me already…and get off of me. You're heavy. OW!"_

"_Idiot…"_

_*sigh* "Not cool…"_

"_Huh? It says here that because of high level magic, both Ability and Augment will be absorbed."_

_*grunt* "I guess that's cool, but what's the Augment? And can you please get off me now? Seriously, you're heavy…"_

"_Augment is only B-Class too."_

"_Well?"_

"…"

"…"

"…"

"_Hey! What's the Augment?!"_

"_Augment is…" *sigh*_

"_What's the Augment damn it?!"_

"_Augment is B Rank because it grants bonus to two parameters. Increase range and power of explosive attacks."_

"…"

"…"

"…"

_*sigh*_

"_The heck?! Are you serious?! Why did we have such incompatible stats?!"_

"_Well, I guess the Augment was expected. It's the Abilities that are weird, but at least one of them we could work with."_

"_Fine. Let's just get this over with and make me a Death Scythe then."_

"_Okay Soul. Since you can gain all of what the soul can give, there's no need for the ceremony."_

"_Well, here goes. Time to end this, huh Maka?"_

"_Yep. Time for you to become a Death Scythe, Soul."_

= Transmission End =

The tall figure in a black cloak let out a long breath, his shoulders dropping. He had expected the Technician to figure out the mistake before it was too late. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the opponent's magical power. He cocked his head to the side, thinking it over.

"_Maybe the lack of experience with true Witches also played a factor in this…"_

He shook his head in disappointment. There was nothing else he could do but break the bad news to the two once they have reported in. In the meantime, he had more problems to deal with.

"Maka! My poor daughter…"

He looked to his current partner, finding him clinging to the lower corner of his mirror. Even with the transmission ending and the images gone, he still wept into it as if hoping that his daughter could hear him. Quick as a flash, his hand was out and smoking, as is the newly formed bump on the unconscious man on the floor's head.

"Really Spirit-kun, you shouldn't be acting this way. I have more urgent problems to deal with than your bad parenting."

As if on cue, three figures stepped onto his plane behind him. He turned to them to welcome them, noting the large bag of souls the boy was carrying.

"Oi! Shinigami! BlackStar and Tsubaki, reporting in!"

"BlackStar…"

The woman beside the boy looked worriedly at the boy and then at him. He knew that she wanted to tell him off about addressing him so, familiarly, but he knew that she wouldn't be able to do so. He was a bit shocked to find that the man they brought along with them wasn't so reserved in chastising the boy, going so far as hitting the boy in the head with his sheathed sword, and used the edge of the sheath to push his head to the ground.

"Show some respect to the Death God!"

He kept a hold of his sword, keeping the boy down on the ground in an undignified version of a kneeling bow. He went down on one knee before he spoke to him.

"I apologize for his behavior, Shinigami-sama. And I have to say, it is an honor to meet you."

Shinigami's hands appeared from within his cloak and he waved them in front of him.

"Now, now, no need for such formalities, Mifune-kun. Or should I say, Sword God Mifune?"

Mifune stood up and let BlackStar up before speaking again.

"Please, Shinigami-sama, call me Mifune. I have already lost my title when this kid defeated me."

BlackStar wanted to shout that he should be called the new Sword God, but Shinigami beat him to it.

"Well, I can't say that I agree with you there, Mifune-kun. As far as I was able to see, BlackStar didn't beat you in swordsmanship, did he?"

He wanted to laugh at their reactions, but even with his playful personality act, it would be a little too much. Mifune still looked as humble as ever, but looking a little embarrassed and proud at the same time for the praise. BlackStar was changing from surprise to anger and back so fast, he thought that he was going to explode. Tsubaki on the other hand, looked worried and fearful about the whole situation. He mentally sighed.

"_I need to get this over with quickly…"_

"Well Tsubaki-chan, I see you haven't gotten a single soul in your name, yet there seems to be a lot of souls in that bag, neh?"

She blushed and looked at BlackStar, who finally got his emotions under control.

"We're not the ones who get these. This guy over here took our prey before we could even do anything!"

He wanted to correct the boy about not being able to do anything and point out that they already had the opportunity to get the souls, but he chose not to. After all, he admired the boy's pride…even if it worried him at times.

"So you're turning them over to Shibusen? Isn't that a nice gesture, isn't that right, Spirit-kun?"

At that time, his Death Scythe had already woken up and walked over to their little group. He noticed that he never took his eyes from the Sword God.

"Yes, nice. Now, about the Sword God and little Angela."

At the mention of the young witch, Mifune's eyes turned cold and icy, glaring at Spirit while holding his sword close to him. It wasn't much movement, but both Shinigami and Spirit saw that he was ready to strike should he need to. Letting out a sigh, he decided to make things clear before things got out of hand.

"Mifune-kun, we already know your circumstances along with Angela, and rest assured that we have no evil intentions for such a cute child."

He looked towards the boy before continuing to talk, keeping his cheerful and playful tone

"Before we talk about that though, BlackStar. Up until now, you have yet to capture even a single soul. Because of that, you will be assigned in a special class later with another student. For now, you are dismissed."

When the two left, although having only done so after causing quite a ruckus, Shinigami turned toward the Sword God, speaking with seriousness in his voice.

"We are aware that Angela is a Witch, but we also recognize that she is one who does not wish to bring harm to others. You'd be surprised at how many Witches like her that we know."

He snapped his fingers and images formed around him, showing three different females. He pointed to the image of a girl with short pink hair walking alongside another girl with long dark-brown hair.

"This is Kim Diehl, and the one beside her is her Weapon partner, Jacqueline O. Lantern Dupre. Kim, as you might have guessed, is a Witch while also a student of Shibusen as one of our Technicians. The other two are living their life here as harmless civilians."

He made a calling gesture of his hand, urging the Witch behind Mifune and hiding under her magic to come to him.

"It was real easy to pick up her Witch wavelength, since she is using her magic within Shibusen, especially in this special plane. Don't worry, like I said, we have no ill intentions for her."

Angela dropped her magic and walked over to Shinigami. When he offered his hand, she shook it. She was then lifted up by the cloaked man and was spun around. She giggled while they were spinning, and laughed when Shinigami let her down and she tried to walk, falling on her hands and knees.

"You are welcome to stay here, and we will be more than happy to take care of you and Angela, but it comes with a price…"

He looked towards Mifune, and when the man nodded, he continued.

"As BlackStar mentioned, you will be working here as a teacher. However, it will be a special class of sorts. You will be handling some of our troubled students, along with another."

He snapped his fingers and the images of the two civilian Witches disappeared, replaced by more images of different students.

"These students are all talented, and quite strong. You've met BlackStar and his partner, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. I've already mentioned Kim and Jacqueline. These others are Ox Ford and Harvar D. Eclair, Kirikou Rung and his partners Pot of Fire and Pot of Thunder, the daughter of my current partner Spirit-kun Maka Albarn and her partner Soul Evans, my son Death the Kid and his partners Elizabeth and Patti Thompson."

He pointed to each image as he named them, letting Mifune know their identities.

"Hey, wait a minute Shinigami-sama. Kid and these over here aren't even students here."

"Oh Spirit-kun, you worry too much. Don't worry, their enrolment has already been arranged, and it's only now a matter of time before they decide to join Shibusen."

His playful tone returned while addressing his partner and he laughed a little for added effect. Taking advantage of the sudden lightening of the mood, he finished his conversation with Mifune.

"Also, to make it fair to Kim and all others who benefit from Shibusen's protection and care, you will be working as one of our Technicians. We have a Weapon who is just about your age. Because of certain circumstances, he has been staying in Shibusen as an office worker and wasn't able to turn into a Death Scythe, so I think he'll be thrilled to have a new Meister."

He then looked over the bag of souls behind the man and pointed to it.

"Now about those souls, we could name them to your Weapon once the documents have been settled, but because of his proud nature, I don't think he'll like it."

"That may be for the best. From what I could understand about Meisters and their Weapons, they need to have a compatibility and great understanding of each other in order for them to become strong. Since these souls were obtained without his help, it will not be good for how I see him if he were to take them."

"Well then, you can sell them to Shibusen?"

Mifune's brows furrowed in confusion, and Spirit took it upon himself to explain.

"Meisters and Weapons can sell the souls they get to Shibusen. Souls bought are not considered part of the 99 soul quota, since it'll be registered to the original captor of it. Weapons don't really need to absorb the souls they get, they just need to register the soul as one they caught, and then they can use or sell them."

He then looked at the bag's contents, studying them closely.

"Well, most of these are D-Rank, and only one of them is a C-Rank, but with these numbers, you can sell them to Shibusen for enough money to cover at least a week's worth of expenses."

Spirit smiled at Mifune, and the Sword God returned it. Having decided to accept their offer, she took Angela and lifter her up onto his shoulders.

"Is there a contract that we need to sign?"

* * *

A/N: It's a very late update, I know. And it seems a little different from how the previous chapters I made, I also realize that. *sigh*

Maybe because it's been so long that I haven't updated this story that I forgot how I wrote it, but I'm trying to return to that old way to make things consistent. Until now though, I'm going to have to make do with this chapter.

Good news? I think I may already have a plot for this story now, not just bits and pieces of concepts. Yey!

Bad news? I still can't handle the extreme personalities in the story, which is why I'm having difficulty writing it. That's also the reason why I skipped Kid's 'intro', only because there wasn't really much that happened there that I could remake and alter, so I left it the way it happened in the original manga. :D

Hope you guys stick around though, I'm working on making future updates happen sooner and a lot faster, though with much better quality. :)


	4. Chapter 4: BlackStar Actually Listens

Chapter 4: BlackStar Actually Listens

"Why are we looking for this thing again?"

He looked around the cemetery in irritation, trying to find anything weird or out of the ordinary. The mission didn't involve hunting down any Madman and merely investigating some reports of a creep lurking around the cemetery, which didn't really excite him.

"It's our special class that Shinigami-sama assigned to us personally, in case you've forgotten."

With the annoyance in her voice clear as she spoke, he decided to drop the subject. If there was anything he learned with about dealing with women, it was to never cross a woman in a bad mood. Too bad his friend never bothered to learn anything about women yet.

"I get why you guys are here, but why is the big me in this gloomy place?!"

"BlackStar…"

BlackStar's partner tried to keep him from agitating anyone else, but like always, she wasn't able to keep him from being his usual self.

"We made a stupid mistake, that's all you need to know. Now drop it, mr. zero soul!"

Soul winced at his partner's hostility. He hadn't realized their mistake bothered her so much. It did irritate him having to return to step one, but not as much as it did his partner. He wished that there wasn't anything else to set her off. Unfortunately, he forgot that they were with BlackStar.

"Little mistake? Hah! The big me would never make a mistake like that! Hey Soul! It must be weird having a cat's soul inside your body, huh?"

"Oh yeah?! At least Soul and I has reached 99 Madman souls already! What about you?! You don't even care about helping Tsubaki stronger!"

BlackStar shook off the insult with a wave of his hand, the other busy picking his nose with his pinky.

"Tsubaki's an awesome Weapon. No offense to my buddy Soul, but Tsubaki doesn't really need all those souls to make her stronger. That's why we're going to bag all those souls in one go and make her a Death Scythe before my man Shinigami notices it!"

"Idiot. Do you really pay attention to class?"

When the boy yawned, Maka decided to turn to his partner, knowing that she had brains and common sense.

"Tsubaki, don't you ever teach him anything?"

"Well, BlackStar never really listens…"

Tsubaki hung her head and Maka only shook hers, feeling sorry for the other girl. She took out her glasses from her robe as well as a book from her pockets, opening it to a certain page as she put on her glasses.

"Listen here. A Death Scythe is a Demon Weapon that has reached a level of strength that can only be attained by consuming 99 Madman souls and 1 Witch Soul. The Witch soul is the catalyst for this transformation while the Madman souls are absorbed to prepare the Weapon for the transformation. During the transformation into a Death Scythe, the absorbed Madman souls are also responsible for stabilizing the power that the Witch soul provides."

She looked up from the book and was glad to find that BlackStar actually listened to her. She motioned to close the books, but BlackStar stopped her by asking her a question.

"Hey, why do some people sell the souls they capture again?"

"Because there are now too many Madmen in the world and there aren't enough Demon Weapons to absorb their souls. This resulted in a war years before, so Shinigami-sama had to create a brand new system for creating Death Scythes."

She flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for, reading it aloud.

"After the defeat of the Witches, the world was once again brought to chaos by a sudden boom in the population of Madmen. This sudden boom also brought about evolutions in the Madmen, causing a change in their souls. Because of their presence, Demon Weapons that were born into families whose lineage has already become dormant awakened. These Demon Weapons that weren't caught up in madness were then gathered by Shinigami and sent to deal with the threat of their rising numbers.

Because of the large number of Madmen, there were Demon Weapons that turned into Death Scythes without so much as lifting a finger or venturing out of Shibusen by purchasing or 'asking for' extra souls that the already turned Death Scythes had. Because there wasn't anything else they could use the souls for, these transactions were made.

Pretty soon, factions formed within the Death Scythes. Those who gained their status through hard work were called the Old Ways while those who got theirs through connections and transactions were called the New Age. With their different ideals, the Secret War that broke out was deemed inevitable. The Old Ways faction completely defeated the New Age faction despite being outnumbered. When the Eight Powerful Warriors learned of the War, the New Age faction has already been defeated.

Shinigami was enraged and used his powers to perform the first ever Counter Reset, completely removing all the souls they had absorbed and reverting the Death Scythes into Demon Weapons. With the help of the other Powerful Warriors, the souls that were removed were purified and returned on their way through the cycle of life.

Because of the Secret War, Shingami and the rest of the Eight Warriors devised of a new system to prevent the disastrous event from ever happening again. Shinigami wanted to prevent the selling and/or trading of souls, but the New Age and the Old Ways both protested against the idea due to the fact that the evolved Madman souls had new properties that were beneficial for certain individuals. Having consulted the other Warriors, they decided on the Captor Absorb Count method, where only the souls that was registered as a capture to the absorber will be counted to complete the quota.

Because of the Old Ways and the New Age having united under the idea of 'customized growth', one of the Warriors created a device that alters the Demon Weapons' bodies to allow them to accommodate more absorbed souls, as well as to implement the Captor Absorb Counter into them. The device was later destroyed after it sent the wavelength that made the alterations across the world."

She looked up from the book and was shocked to see an excited look in BlackStar's eyes.

"Did we really learn all of that in class?! No way something so cool was in the boring lectures in class!"

Maka snapped her book shut and pocketed it, removing her glasses as well.

"It was in the lecture. If only you had paid attention, then you would've known all of this by now."

BlackStar shook his head so wildly that Maka thought his neck was going to snap. When he spoke again, he pointed at Tsubaki.

"Maybe you're just a good teacher! Not even Tsubaki explained it in an interesting way."

Maka looked at the saddened girl and let out a sigh. She didn't think it was her teaching skills that made it easier for him to understand.

"_I'm pretty sure it's because we're out on the field that you picked it up quickly."_

When she placed her glasses back inside her robe, BlackStar asked another question.

"Wait! What was that 'customized growth' about?"

She stared at BlackStar for a while before looking at Tsubaki, who gave a small smile and nodded apologetically. She pulled out her Soul Read and was about to explain but Soul beat her to it.

"Jeez BlackStar, you're making it embarrassing for me to call you my friend. Customized Growth is when you choose the souls you absorb depending on the stats they give. That," he pointed at the Soul Read in Maka's hand, who then took it as a sign to put it on and turn it on, "is the Soul Read, which allows you to see what stats the soul you've got gives. Remember when she read from the book that Madmen evolved and their souls changed? That's what it was referring to. The Madmen grew stronger and gained different abilities which would then sometimes be passed on to the one absorbing their souls either as an Ability or as an Augment."

When he finished speaking, Maka turned her Soul Read off and pocketed it.

"Don't you have a Soul Read?"

When BlackStar and Tsubaki just stared at her, she raised her hands in exasperation.

"Then how do you determine if the stats of the souls you're going to get are going to be helpful or at what Rank and Class the souls you're getting are?"

BlackStar puffed his chest out and pounded it with a fist.

"Like I said! The big me doesn't need to check what stats the souls I'm getting are, especially since Tsubaki doesn't need them to get stronger. We're just going to complete the quota in one go and surprise Boss by Tsubaki's sudden transformation!"

Soul wanted to point out how that specific approach of his is what's gotten him into this current situation, but his partner placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Maka…"

He turned to her and saw that she had a serious expression on her face, her eyes darting around as if looking for something. He knew that she had a strong sense of when something's wrong and that she felt something, but the fact that she can't determine what it was says something about that thing's ability. He nodded to her even though she wasn't looking at him, transforming into his weapon form. BlackStar took the sudden change in her mood as a challenge.

"Oi! You trying to pick a fight with me or something?!"

"BlackStar…"

He looked at his partner and saw that she was getting a little nervous as the other Meister kept looking around. He calmed himself and steadied his breathing. He stretched his senses out and he heard a sudden noise that quickly disappeared.

"Tsubaki!"

He grabbed onto her hand and her body turned to light, but before she was able to transform into weapon form, BlackStar and Maka stepped back just in time to avoid something crashing to the ground between them. They were knocked back by the impact and the debris it kicked up. When both Technicians were on their feet, their partners were in their complete weapon form. Maka held Soul's scythe form in front of her with both hands, ready to meet any attack head on while BlackStar held Tsubaki's kodachi form in one hand to his side, his body turned sideways in preparation to counter any attack coming his way.

A shape of a large man lumbering from the crater he formed could be seen from the screen of dust.

"Kill-kon-kan-kun~, time for class."

Without further prompting, the figure burst from the dust screen and attacked the two Meisters.

* * *

He kicked the floor and his chair went rolling on its wheels through the hallway. As he strolled by on his chair, he thought about the students that Shinigami told him to keep an eye on. He encountered the two of them yesterday and was surprised at what they could do.

"_Maka could already use Witch Hunter at such a young age, not to mention she has good judgement with the souls she's had her partner absorb."_

He went through the record he had memorized in his head, scanning through the list.

"_Soul Eater (Evans) "Demon Scythe" – Meister: Maka Albarn_

_ Captured: 305 Total._

_ - 150 E Rank (150 sold)_

_ - 104 D Rank (19 sold; 70 absorbed - counter reset)_

_ - 50 C Rank (15 sold; 29 absorbed - counter reset)_

_ - 1 B Rank (1 absorbed - counter reset - cat soul)_

_ Stored: 21 Total_

_ - 15 D Rank (up for trade)_

_ - 6 C Rank (up for trade)_

_ Absorbed: 0 Total (counter reset) + 41 bought_

_ - 70 D Class (Augment) + 23 D Class (Augment)_

_ - 28 C Class (Augment) + 17 C Class (Augment)_

_ - 1 C Class (Active Ability: Rippah's Claw) + 1 C Class (Passive Ability: Double Edge)_

_ - 1 B Class (Passive: Cat Balance + Active Ability: Compound Claw + Augment)_

_Note: Augments absorbed are compatible with weapon type. Augments include: +Sharpness, +Slashing Power, +Weapon Strength, +Weapon Durability."_

He tapped his chin as his chair continued to roll on its wheels. He remembered two other people indicated in the record that was almost to her level in terms of utilizing her Weapon's Customized Growth, but she was by far the most intensive. He really didn't know what else Shinigami wanted him to help her with aside from improving her techniques with regards to Soul Perception, but if Shinigami felt that they should be watched, then he was going to do so.

"_Besides, I'm excited to see what other combinations she can create aside from that Witch Hunter empowered Rippah's Claw that she almost succeeded in using."_

When he sensed he was slowing down, he kicked the floor once more. Thinking about his other lab rats, he was again reminded the great difference between the Scythe Technician and the others.

"_BlackStar has no problems in terms of physical ability and strength, he just needs to learn how to properly utilize his soul menace attacks and his partner, especially with unlocking her full potential. There's no problems with Kid save for his eccentric OCD, though there is also his destructive tendencies to control. Ox has pretty good techniques and is also quite capable in terms of taking care of his partner's Custom Growth, but there's that matter of doing things for only one person's sake. Kirikou is almost as athletic as BlackStar and almost as good in Custom Growth as Ox, not to mention he's also capable of adjusting his soul wavelength to match other Weapons, but he's too worried about turning his twins into Death Scythes by taking lots of low rank missions and requests that he isn't being challenged too much. And then there's Kim…well, I don't need to worry about her for now since she'll be having her hands full at the moment."_

Just as he wrapped up his musings about his new test subjects, the wheels of his chair hit a bump and caused the chair to tip over, making him fall to the floor and on his back. Looking up, he found that he has reached his destination. He turned the screw on his head to calm his thoughts before addressing the crowd.

"Yo."

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

* * *

A/N: AAAAAAHHHHH! I can't make the formatting work to make the record look better! -_-


End file.
